WATERLOO and BARCELONA – RIM announced today support for its new Playbook tablet on two more high speed network standards – HSPA+ and LTE at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday.
The move to offer LTE and HSPA+ versions of its PlayBook guarantees access to all major carriers in North America
The first version of the PlayBook, with WiFi and Bluetooth is set for launch in March and U.S. carrier Sprint Nextel will sell a version for its WiMAX network in the summer.
The WiFi-only version can connect to a user’s existing BlackBerry smartphone to access its data and use its wireless connection. Analysts say that may give carriers little incentive to subsidize or advertise the PlayBook aggressively.
Evolved High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) is used by Rogers, AT&T and T-Mobile. Long Term Evolution (LTE) is an all-IP standard that Verizon Wireless, among others, have started to deploy.
Both standards are built to carry the increased amount of data needed for video streaming and large file downloads at improved speeds.
RIM also announced today it has bought Seattle-based business social networking company Gist for an undisclosed sum. The move is seen as a way for RIM to strengthen its position versus Apple, Google’s Android, and the newly announced tandem of Nokia and Microsoft in the increasingly competitive mobile telecom market.
RIM also said Monday that its App World online store is now available in 27 more countries for a total of 101 and now has more than 20,000 applications on offer.
It also announced on Monday that it’s leading a new $150 million investment in BlackBerry Partners Fund II, which will be used to invest in mobile computing firms. The new fund is expected to launch in June, and have a "broader international mandate" than the first.
The first BlackBerry Partners Fund was established in 2008, with partners including Thomson Reuters and Royal Bank of Canada.
To date, that fund has made 13 investments, in firms including Appia, Buzzd, Digby, Nexage, SocialDeck, Transpera and Xobni.
"We are very pleased with the positive impact of the first Fund on our mobile ecosystem and we look forward to BlackBerry Partners Fund II bringing additional resources and support to mobile innovators in a broader range of international markets," said RIM co-CEO Jim Balsillie.
